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Drake issues apology, promises to erase autism lyric from album

Drake greets fans during the 2013 MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto on Sunday June 16, 2013. (Aaron Vincent Elkaim / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

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The Canadian Press
Published Tuesday, July 23, 2013 12:04PM EDT
Last Updated Tuesday, July 23, 2013 12:19PM EDT

TORONTO -- Toronto rapper Drake has apologized and promised to erase a controversial reference to autism from his song "Jodeci (Freestyle)."

The controversial line in question was uttered by North Carolina rapper J. Cole.

In Drake's song, Cole raps that he's "artistic" while his rivals are "autistic, retarded."

The lyric spawned an online petition in protest of the song and received the support of the Anti-Bullying Alliance.

Cole apologized for the lyric on Sunday, writing in his blog that he wanted to educate himself about the condition and adding that there's "nothing cool about mean-spirited comments about someone with autism."

Drake followed with a blog post of his own on Monday.

"Individuals with autism have brilliant and creative minds, and their gifts should not be disparaged or discounted," he wrote. "This was a learning lesson for both of us, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to try to right this wrong. J. Cole and I believe that it is the right, responsible, and respectful decision to remove the lyric from the song."

Offensive hip-hop rhymes have been in the spotlight in recent months.

In April, Reebok cut ties with rapper Rick Ross after he courted controversy with a lyric that suggested he supported date rape, prompting Ross to apologize.

And in May, New Orleans rap star Lil Wayne lost endorsements from Pepsi for using the racially charged 1955 slaying of youth Emmett Till as part of a sexual reference. He also subsequently apologized.